Parashas Vayeira
Genesis 18:1 – 22:24
Please Pray this Prayer
Before reading
In the name of Yahushua
Our Messiyah,
I pray for the Spirit of
Understanding
The Spirit pf Knowledge and
The Spirit of Wisdom
As I read through this
Parasha
That the Truth of the Torah
may
Come forth. Amen
This Torah portion of Veyera is the
Hebrew word for ‘He saw’, is the 4th
of the cycle, we find that after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the
daughters of Lot, lay with their fathers and conceived children by him. The
explanation given by some of the Hebrew sages, for the apparent violation of
the Torah restriction of incest is that Lot’s
daughters believed that they and their father were the only survivor left on
earth.
The Torah tells us
that Lot’s daughters said, “We will make alive, from our father, a
continuation, a zerah.” The
daughters use the word zerah, or seeed, rather than the word child. The choice of word indicate their motives for
lying with their father. It was not primary for bearing a child, but for
accomplishing something far greater, it was to plant a seed, that would one day
producer the Messiyah.
This seed would
revealed the Messiyah, the revelation of the Light of bila hamavet lanetzach, of victory over death, and Techiyat haMetim, the Resurrection of the dead.
In every stage of
our spiritual development, our Heavenly Father revealed more of Himself to us.
Let us now investigate the cause by which EL YAHWEH appeared to Abraham.
We have an account
in this chapter of another interview between YAHWEH and Abraham, probably
within a few days after the former, as the reward of his cheerful obedience to
the law of circumcision. Here is,
I. The kind visit
which YAHWEH made to Abraham, and the kind entertainment which he gave to that
visit, verse 1-8.
II. The matters
discoursed of between them.
- The purposes of YAH’s love concerning Sarah verse 9–15.
2.
The purposes of
YAH’s wrath concerning Sodom.
(1.) The discovery YAHWEH
made to Abraham of HIS design to destroy Sodom
verse 16–22.
(2.) The
intercession Abraham made for Sodom
verse 23, etc.
Gen 18:1 And יהוה appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of
Mamrĕ, while he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and saw
three men standing over him. And when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to
meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “יהוה ,
if I have now found favor in Your eyes, please do not pass Your servant by. - After every significant application of
obedience, the Glory of YAHWEH makes an appearance. What significance stage did
Abraham complete? Could it be circumcision? The last part of Parasha Lech
Lecha, we heard of Abraham and his household being circumcised.
My spirit is in agreement with this interpretation; Torah did not give us a
time line between events. Abraham was in His tent resting from the effect of
this Divine impose surgery.
Did the removal of the flesh, that separate us from our carnal nature,
create in Abraham the ability to see into the Spiritual realm? We know that the
Hebrew’s ability to remove this barrier
to his spiritual growth transcends the natural order of their life.
How did Abraham know whom
the visitors were, to make him run during a time when he would be obvious in
pain? Was it his ability to act enhance by his newly formed spiritual nature?
With maturity comes a
outpouring of the Fruit of the Spirit; one of the fruits of the spirit is
Humility. In humility Abraham bowed himself and asked, if he had found favor in
YAHWEH eyes, do not past me by. The Men had not identified themselves to
Abraham, yet he recognizes them.
Is it possible that
those angels were there all along and Abraham eyes were just open that he could
see them? When spiritual maturity is achieve, it will be like seeing beauty for
the first time, that beauty, that Angel that were there all along.
Another attribute of the
Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is the ability to discern; discerning friend from
enemy, wolf in sheep clothing from the real sheep. Abraham was able to discern
from a far the Divine nature of the three Men. Have you ever seen someone who
you just feel uncomfortable with; even though that person has never given you a
cause to think so? That is the feeling I am talking about.
“Please let a little water be
brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. “And let me bring a piece of bread and refresh your hearts,
and then go on, for this is why you have come to your servant.” And they said, “Do as you have said.” Aḇraham ran into the tent to
Sarah and said, “Hurry, make ready three measures of fine flour, knead it and
make cakes.” And Aḇraham ran to the
herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hurried to
prepare it. And he took curds and milk
and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them, and he stood by
them under the tree as they ate.
Even mature believer, such as Yahushua and Abraham offered to wash the feet
of others. Yahushua in John 13:6-7 He wash His disciple’s feet. Our home should
be and must be a place where other can come and have their feet washed. The
spiritual implication of washing a person feet, has to do with our walk. Too
often in our daily journey our feet becomes contaminated by the building block
of the flesh, who is better able to help than a mature believer.
The washing of feet is essential to our spiritual
development, as Yahushua says in John 13: 6Then
cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my
feet? 7 Yahushua (Jesus)
answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not
now; but thou shall know hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him,
Thou shall never wash my feet. Yahushua answered him, if
I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
If our feet, your walk do not get
wash daily, if we do not visit the Laver, or wash ourselves in the Water that
flows from Yahushua’s side, we can have no part of Yahushua.
Abraham was exercising the Altar called the Laver, or the
Blood and Water that flow from our Messiyah side. It is at this Altar, that we
help people on their journey to perfection, become perfect. Whom did we meet
today that we could have help on their spiritual journey? Whom could we have
helped today to overcome the desire of the flesh? Abraham obviously recognizes
the journey of the three men, he offered to wash their feet and feed them with
the Word.
Notice how Abraham offer the three Men milk and meat. I
though that it was not permitted to eat meat and drink milk during a meal: or
is this one of the man made commandments. It is a man made commandment.
In our spiritual journey to perfection, it is essential
for us to stop, have a Sabbath rest to refresh our selves. Abraham offered his
Visitors, Let us recline ourselves under this tree to refresh ourselves then
you may continue on your way.
The Laver is only one of the Altars on the road to perfection, it is only a
temporary rest area; and then, on we go. So is the Sabbath, we take a rest,
then we continue on the journey. Abraham was in his Canaan,
full maturity; he is now offering help to those who he sees on their journey.
Abraham feed them and encourages them to continue their Journey.
Abraham called his wife, his helpmate to participate in ministering to the
travelers. Abraham was showing the three travelers that he was aware of the
pattern of ministry. When we act according to the Divine Pattern, as Moses did
in building the Tabernacle, the Shechinah Glory will manifest it self.
Gen 18:9 And they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “See, in
the tent.” - Abraham past the test that Adam
failed! Where is your wife? At least He was able to give an accurate account to
the Three Men as to where she was: Adam could not make that same statement. Now
that the Angels were satisfied with his answer, they proceed to make him a
promise.
Men if you do not know where your wife is spiritually and physically, you
will not be able to receive the promise. Notice the Angel reply: And He said, “I shall certainly return to you according to the time of
life, and see, Sarah your wife is to have a son!” And Sarah was listening in
the tent door, which was behind him.
Previously, the prophecy of a son had been given only to
Abraham. Now it would be reveled to Sarah as well. The angel inquiring about
her was no coincident: As Abraham knew where Sarah was physically, he also knew
where she was spiritually; she was in her Tabernacle listening.
Why did the Angel in all His Wisdom not ask Abraham to
bring Sarah by his side to receive the promise? Was Sarah not equal to Abraham
or wasn’t she? Why weren’t there three women angels, or one man and two women,
or even two men and one woman? When there is a strong Torah male leadership,
women play a supporting role. As Yahushua is the head of the Messiyanic
Assembly so is the man the head of the woman. YAHWEH will permit women leaders,
where there are no suitable men. I want to live in YAHWEH Sovereign Will, not
His Permissive will.
In the Church, the head will always receive the promise,
the body will also hear the promise been given and adjust its self to help or
support the head.
Now Aḇraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age,
and Sarah was past the way of women. And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “Each day in a
person’s life carries with it its own challenges. What is supposed to be
achieved today should not be left for tomorrow; because tomorrow carries its
own burdens. In the normal course of events, everyone goes through life with
his or her own spiritual curriculum: However, too often those events are marked
fail or failed again in the lives of majority of humans.
Only great men such as Abraham and great women like Sarah, come through
these experiences with pass, pass, and rewrite. This is the significance of the
expression , literally,
they came with days: Psalms 39:5 YAHWEH let me know my end, the number of my days
that I may learn how frail I am. 6 You have given my days a very
short span; my life is as nothing before you.
A mature believer
like Abraham and Sarah knew how to maximize every single opportunity, to
squeeze ever ounce of opportunity out of every situation. The incident with the
three Angels, they milk it for all its worth. A mature believer will take the
opportunity to maximize every Parasha to learn the do’s and the don’ts of the
Kingdom.
After I have withered shall I again have delicate skin,
my master being old too?” In the literal sense, this is simply a simile for the
return of the fountain of youth that would enable her to give birth. When a
woman gets pregnant, the cells in her ovaries are in there most youthful stage,
those embryos are linked to the mother by an umbilical cord, the liquid that
the embryos is submerge in, is of the same essence as the mother and the child.
Women who today spend a great deal of money on plastic
surgery could maintain a more youthful appearance by having more children. All
women are born with a set amount of eggs, by having more children they would
extend their productivity by nine month every time they get pregnant.
And יהוה said to Aḇraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I truly have
a child, since I am old?’ “Is any matter
too hard for יהוה ? At the
appointed time I am going to return to you, according to the time of life, and
Sarah is to have a son.” But Sarah
denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but
you did laugh!” The appointed time
or YAHWEH’s day, are found in Leviticus 23. Every significant event about Isaac
like Yahushua is marked by these days. These appointed days are as the time of
life when our Lord requires us to come into His Presence.
Sarah is to have a son according to these appointed time, a true son of the
promise is to live according to the appointed time. Christianity says that
these days are nailed to the Cross, how sad for them when they realize that EL YAHWEH
does not change.
Gen 18:16-21 And the men rose up from there and looked
toward Soḏom, and Aḇraham went with them to
send them away. And יהוה said, “Shall I hide from
Aḇraham what I am doing, since Aḇraham
is certainly going to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of
the earth shall be blessed in him? “For I have known him, so that he commands
his children and his household after him, to guard the way of יהוה , to do righteousness and
right-ruling, so that יהוה brings to Aḇraham
what He has spoken to him.” And יהוה said, “Because the outcry against Seḏom and
Amorah is great, and because their sin is very heavy, “I am going down now to see whether they have
done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me, and if
not, I know.” - Mature believer will always rise early in the morning to accomplish the
task set before them. This is another Kingdom principle and a character of a
mature believer.
The
three messenger (Angels) was about to depart from Abraham on their way to
destroy Sodom. They delayed their departure to give Abraham a chance to
intercede on there behalf. All mature believers will always intercede on behalf
of the lost soul: they understand the importance of every living person who was
created in the Image of the Creator.
I
said before, that I believe that Abraham was a prophet; here we see EL YAHWEH
revealing His plans to His servant the prophet Abraham. Since Abraham is
destined to become a great nation, he has to teach his descendant the value of
kindness and justice to all his future generations. It is appropriate that EL YAHWEH
informed Abraham about His plan to deal with the wicked.
YAHWEH
wanted Abraham to learn that the opportunity for repentance should be always
open to sinner, even at the last minute. He also wanted Abraham to know that if
there had been some righteous people in Sodom, even if the majority of the
population was unsaved, the righteous few would spare the other.
The
implication of verse 19, imply that the root of Sodom’s wickedness lay in its
failure to abide by the principle that Abraham would instill in his offspring.
The cruelties of Sodom had become part of the language as the archetype of selfishness,
callousness, insensitivity, and depravity: the root of their evil was greed.
Sodom
was a very rich and fertile land, as such; it became a magnet for people
seeking their piece of the pie. The citizen of Sodom wanted to maintain their
own prosperity on the backs of the new immigrants. However, the wealthy and
well-connected Lots of the world were welcome with open arms.
The
sexual perversion for which Sodom is notorious was employed to keep visitors
away. Such selfish act manifests it self in cruelty and perversion and a
civilization that elevates such behavior by using the law, forfeits its right
to exist.
In
Genesis 18:19 “For I have known(love) him,
because he commands his children and his household after him, to guard the way
of יהוה ,
Literally
the word
(יד) refers to knowledge, not love,
but the Torah often use love as its secondary meaning, for one who loves
another brings himself close and seeks to know him or her as well. EL YAHWEH
loved or knew Abraham because Abraham would always convey YAHWEH’s teaching to
his offspring.
A
mature believer reveals his or her value by what they teach their children. For
one to preach and not practice the Torah, reveals that the teaching is less
than sincere. In summing up, the maturity of Abraham and the reason he was
entitled to a role in the Kingdom to come is because of what he would teach his
children.
A
mature believer can be distinguish in seven ways: They have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They are lead by the Spirit as they
obeyed the commandment. A mature believer must therefore practice the
commandment in love more than any other, because it is the characteristic of
the true descendant of Abraham.
Verse
20 and YAHWEH said the outcry against the City of Sodom has come to His
attention. The cry of the oppress begging for liberation from its sin is a
vital tool to incurred EL YAHWEH judgment. EL YAHWEH Himself will come to see
if this is true before judgment is made. If the matter warrants destruction
then destruction is it. If it was a small matter, maybe some punishment, if not
He alone will decide what to do.
Gen 18:22 So the
men turned away from there and went toward Seḏom, but יהוה stood still before Aḇraham. 23 And Aḇraham drew near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the
unrighteous? - Two of the Angels were on the
way to Sodom, while the Third stayed behind. Abraham got into an intercessor
discussion pertaining to the destruction of Sodom. Abraham prayer was two fold.
He argued that the Attribute of Justice must be tempered by Mercy: the mature
believer that Abraham was, he bargains from 50 all the way down to 10, so that
if there were 10 truly righteous people, two in each city, it would be spared.
Abraham
bargain that at least let the righteous believers be saved. As a part of his
intercessor plea, he expressed himself in very strong, apparently questioning
terms, as if EL YAHWEH course of justice was a sacrilege. Abraham feared that
future generation would lose faith in the fairness of EL YAHWEH’s justice if
they felt that YAHWEH would inflict equal punishment on the righteous and the
wicked.
As mature believer we have the right to bargain with EL YAHWEH,
if it is according to His Sovereign Will. One of the reasons why many of us
have not walked in our Divine gifts is because we have not demand or stand up
for our spiritual rights.
In
response to Abraham argument, EL YAHWEH said that He would indeed exercise
mercy on all the righteous soul; however, the only souls that could be save
were Lot and his family. Psalms 91:7-11 A thousand may
fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come
near you. 8 Only with
your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have
made YAHWEH, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall
any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over
you, to keep you in all your ways.
This historical event
seems to indicate that EL YAHWEH uses mature believer to help to develop and
establish Kingdom principle. It was the indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh (the
Holy Spirit) that helps Abraham to communicate with EL YAHWEH in such a manner
that he was not been offensive.
Abraham like all mature
believers should plead strenuously for believers who lived among people who are
notorious for their wickedness. Immature believers preach kindness, but they
become outraged and hate those who dispute their values. Abraham, the epiphany of a Mature Believer,
on the other hand, cared only for the truth as define in Torah. Abraham felt no
animosity toward evildoers; he like all mature believes wanted only for them to
change and grow spiritually.
Abraham
felt that if there was a nucleus of ten righteous people in any of the five
cities, there was hope that they might influence the community by being an
example. Abraham exemplified in its noblest form his new role as a mature
father of a multitude of people. Even the wicked inhabitants of Sodom engaged
his sympathy, and he overflowed with sorrow over their impending destruction.
Many
great people throughout history have had angels appear in order to help or
teach them. However, when the angels approached man of us, we refused there
help
Gen 18:24 “What if there are 50 innocent people in the city? Are
you really going to sweep them away? Won't you spare that place for the sake of
the 50 innocent people who are in it?” “ A total of five cities were slated for destruction as mentioned in Genesis
14:2, Sodom and Gomorrah were the most prominent. Admah, Zeboiim the two middle
cities and Zoar was the smallest of the five. Abraham mention fifty a quorum of
ten righteous souls per city.
All
mature believers must display their righteousness in public, in the midst of
the city. The true test of a mature believer person is that one is ready at all
time to give an account of the things they believe; even in a spiritually
hostile environment such as Sodom. Furthermore, a mature believer should be
involved with his fellow man, trying to influence them to grow spiritually.
When
the people of Sodom and Gomarroh anger YAHWEH because of the debased behavior
of the people, Abraham argues with YAHWEH on behalf of the cities and their
inhabitants. What if there are fifty righteous people will YOU wipe out the
city.
Gen 18:25-27 “Far
be it from You to act in this way, to slay the righteous with the unrighteous,
so that the righteous should be as the unrighteous. Far be it from You! Does
the Judge of all the earth not do right?”
And יהוה said, “If I find in Seḏom
fifty righteous within the city, then I shall spare all the place for their
sakes.” And Aḇraham
answered and said, “Look, please, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it
upon myself to speak to יהוה , - In the previous verses, EL YAHWEH had acquiesced to
Abraham’s petition, but now Abraham was begging YAHWEH indulgence to continue
his pleas. Suspecting that his first request would go unveiled, because of the
lack of fifty righteous persons, Abraham asked YAHWEH for permission to grant
him one more petition. Come lets us reason together, these reasoning is and
should all ways be in accordance with Divine principle. It is therefore for us
to learn divine principle and apply them at every opportune moment.
In this verse we see Abraham seems to be acknowledging his humanness in
contrast to YAH’S Divinity, but by using the word Anochi, Abraham is affirming
his godself, the godwithin, and draws strength and fortitude from his internal
godness.
Abraham uncertainity seems to vanish, he immediately begins bargaining with
YAHWEH to save the cities. Supposed there were fortyfive, forthy, thirty,
twenty, righteous people. The negotiation stops at ten, for Abraham was certain
that there were.
This exchange also is an early question of human existence that is still
being asked today: is my godwithin, grounded enough in YAHWEH, that I am strong enough in my inner godness
to be in dialogue with or even dispute with the CREATOR?
The answer of Abraham is a clear yes, we can be inspired by him to
understand and answerin the same manna in our days. When we as human speaks the
word Anochi, it is an expression from the hightest level of human existence,
the greatness off the godwithin. It is an utterance, which is the object and
the goal of our human journey here on earth, is to be like our CREATOR.
Anochi is a word that we can all strive to be able to skeak. Yet, there is
a serious and profond caution that is stated clearly and unequivocally. Anochi,
godwithin is not God the CREATOR. We are all gods, but YAHWEH is the God of all
gods.
The notion of godwithin may lead some to believe that human being are gods,
Psalms 82:5-7 and John 10:35 says we are gods, but many of us will die like
mem. It is only in this time of the hiddeness of the real name, that most
belivers do not realize that we are gods in training.
Instead, we call YAHWEH FATHER, if HE is our FATHER and HE is a god, then
he also are gods. I know that YAHWEH dwells within all mankind, when HE blew
the breath of life when we were born; but we have not maintain the singularity
and the uniqueness of the Divine Entity.
Gen 18:28 “Suppose
there are five less than the fifty righteous, would You destroy all of the city
for lack of five?” And He said, “If I find there forty-five, I do not destroy
it.” - Suppose there were nine righteous persons per city.
Gen 18:29 And he
spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there are found forty?” And He said,
“I would not do it for the sake of forty.” -
Suppose there were eight righteous persons per city.
Gen 18:30 And he
said, “Let not יהוה be displeased, and let me speak: Suppose there
are found thirty?” And He said, “I would not do it if I find thirty there.” - Suppose there were six righteous
persons per city.
Gen 18:31 And he
said, “Look, please, I have taken it upon myself to speak to יהוה :
Suppose there are found twenty?” And He said, “I would not destroy it for the
sake of twenty.” Suppose there were
four righteous people per city.
Gen 18:32 And he said, “Let not יהוה be displeased, and let me speak only this
time: Suppose there are found ten?” And He said, “I would not destroy it for
the sake of ten.” – suppose there were
two righteous people per city; one righteous family per city. I have heard
stories about believers who were late or who called in sick the day of
September 11 in New York.
Gen 18:33 Then יהוה went away as soon as He had ended speaking to
Aḇraham. And Aḇraham returned to his place. - When the two messengers arrived at
Sodom, the seat of mans ultimate depravity. They discovered that the population
more than justified the need for the Divine judgment. Lot, on the other hand,
even though He was not as mature as Abraham, showed that his years with Abraham
had not been in vain, was qualified for divine intervention. However, Lot was
not qualified spiritually to save that city from the impending destruction. If
there were two righteous believers per city, it would be spared destruction.
The story of
Abraham and Lot illuminate that there are levels of maturity we can achieve in
our life. Some will grow fast that other, depending on the choice we make. The
environment of Sodom had stifled the growth of Lots life, not to the point
where he turn against EL YAHWEH, but to the degree that his association with
Sodomite impedes his spiritual development. Another principle that is worthy of
our attention chose our friends wisely. Some friends are like a mill stone
chained to our feet, while other is wind in our sail, willing us forward
spiritually.
Gen 19:1 And the two messengers came to Seḏom in the evening, and Lot was
sitting in the gate of Seḏom. And when Lot saw them, he rose up to meet them, and he
bowed himself with his face toward the ground - The arrival of the angels of judgment was at the end of
the days, the time when all opportunity to grow in the light of the Holy Spirit
has come to an end. One angel came to save Lot; the other came to destroy the
cities. While the third Angel who came to speak to Abraham departed after the
conclusion of His business.
One day is
like a year spiritually, as the six days of creation represent a spiritual
milestone in our journey to perfection. The visitors were called men when they
first appear, not they are called Angels (Malichem) (Messengers).
Lot did recognize them, so he rose to meet
them and bowed in their presence. As most people might think, Lot was not a
total lost. Lot squanders the opportunity to grow into the Fullness of EL YAHWEH.
Like a lot of believers today, who never reach full maturity, because of whom
they choose to associate with? When the trumpet sounds heralding in the end of
days, there will be a type of Lot believers who will be taken away to a safe
area before the tribulation.
Lot
represents a type of believer that has been called out of the world (Ur) but
never make it into the fullness of what we are called to be. Many was called
out of Egypt and died in the wilderness, only two made it to Canaan. Many are
called but few are chosen.
Gen 19:2 and he said, “Look, please my masters, please turn in
to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet, and rise early
and go your way.” And they said, “No, but let us spend the night in the open
square.”- Abraham
washed the visitor feet, while Lot did not. Lot told them to wash their own
feet. The immature believer that Lot was, he did not know the basic fruit of
the Spirit, kindness. Lot wanted them to come for the night then leave in the
morning.
Lot was
ashamed, He did not wanted to be seen in the presence of righteousness. Many
believers today, like a Pastor friend of mine keep Pentecost in secret, but
refuse to teach his congregation the spiritual benefit. He claims that it is
not wise to tell his church that it must be kept. This is a form of the Lot
mentality.
It is during
the night part of our spiritual lives that we need to turn into a mature
believer house for help, where the weary traveler can spend the night in safety
while getting their spiritual feet wash.
Gen 19:3 But he urged them strongly, and they turned in to him
and came into his house. And he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread,
and they ate. - A
mature believer will insist strongly that the weaker traveler turn into their
house of refuge. The messenger came on the 15 Nissan, the first Hebrew month.
The phrases he made a feast and baked unleavened bread indicate that it was
Passover. The mature believer that Abraham was, showed that he was operating
under the appointed time. It was time for Lot to Passover from his present
spiritual existence to a higher spiritual existence.
I often said
the feast days represent EL YAHWEH divine cycle, in the lives of a mature
believer’s life. The successful completion of this cycle determines the quality
of spiritual fruits.
Gen 19:4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of
Seḏom, both old
and young, all the people from every part, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him,
“Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, and let us
‘know’ them.”-The
wicked men of the city heard about the visitors who had just visited Lot,
hordes of Sodomites converged on Lot’s dwelling, demanding that the guest be
turned over to them.
We learn
earlier that the word “know” also means to be intimate with; they wanted to
sodomize them. The inhabitance of the city was notorious for every kind of
wickedness, but their fate were sealed because of their selfishness.
True evil
will come after a believer refused to separate truth from lies. That is why on
the first day of creation the Mighty One separate light from darkness and He
said it was good. Another divine principle is that the mature believer must
always be a refuge for the traveler or the aspiring believer as they seek their
spiritual Canaan.
Notice
carefully that all of EL YAHWEH work was done during the day, as righteous
persons work during the day and evil persons work in the night. It was at night
the evil men of Sodom came after the visitor.
Gen 19:6-8 - So Lot went
out to them through the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, do not do
evil! “Look, please, I have two
daughters who have not known a man. Please, let me bring them out to you, and
do to them as you wish, only do no deed to these men, because they have come
under the shadow of my roof.” - Lot was a perplex hero, on
one hand he risked his own safety, if not his life, to defend the Angels. On
the other hand, incredibly as it might sound he offered up his own daughters to
a mob. Normally men fight to the death for the honor of his wife and daughter,
yet he place his daughters honor at stake.
Lot made a further appeal
that as long as these guests were in his house; they are under his personal
protection. Quite often in order to shed light on a situation EL YAHWEH created
an environment to bring to light, two opposing forces that had been occupying
the same space. This was Lot’s second day of creation; EL YAHWEH was separating
the water under the Heavens and the water on the earth. Lot was finally able to
see his friends for who they are. It is always difficult for immature believer
to discern true from careful disguise lies.
Gen 19:9-11
But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This one came in to sojourn,
and should he always judge? Now we are going to treat you worse than them.” So
they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the
door. But the men reached out their
hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the
doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, and they wearied
themselves to find the door. - How
degenerate can humanity be! Thought they are stricken with spiritual blindness,
these Sodomites persisted in their vain plan, still seeking the door and vainly
trying to enter in. Today the Anglican Church is fulfilling this prophecy with
the ordination of same sex priest; they will never be able to enter or bring
anyone into the fullness of EL YAHWEH. Scripture says that EL YAHWEH will send
us a lying spirit and we will believe a lie. II Chronicles 18:21And he said, I will go out, and
be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And YAHWEH said, Thou shall entice him, and thou shall also prevail: go out, and do even so. 22Now therefore,
behold, YAHWEH hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and YAHWEH
hath spoken evil against thee.
Gen 19:12-13
And the Messengers said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? A son-in-law,
and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city – bring
them out of this place! “For we are
going to destroy this place, because the cry against them has grown great
before the face of יהוה , and יהוה has sent us to destroy it.”- Lot was been questioned, do
you have any disciples? Anyone else who you have been preaching to, someone who
he had taught Torah! As believers we have to give an account of our
stewardship.
EL YAHWEH
was about to make these five cities an example for all of future Yisrael. Other
wicked nations were not punished as severely as Sodom. These cities were
situated in the Land of Yisrael, which will be EL YAHWEH heritage, He would not
tolerate such abominations in its midst.
If
the Anglican Church is destroyed soon then we will know that there were in EL YAHWEH
Will. If they are not destroyed then they were never part of the kingdom.
Gen 19:14 And Lot went out and
spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get
out of this place, for יהוה is going to destroy this city!” But to his
sons-in-law he seemed to be as one joking. - Lot
immature sons-in-law said to him with the typical self-assurance of a Sodomite:
Ridiculous! There is no god. Everything is in order, we are at peace with our
enemies, the stock market is growing, and you say we are going to be destroyed.
How many daughters did Lot have?
Anyone
who indulges in mockery makes serious discussion impossible, because any
attempt to prove one’s point is turn aside with contemptuous joke. This is also
another principle; mockery or mocking by anyone is a sign of immaturity.
Gen 19:15-26 And when morning
dawned, the messengers urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Get up, take your wife and
your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the
city.” And while he loitered, the men took hold of his hand, and his wife’s
hand, and the hands of his two (virgin) daughters, יהוה having compassion on him, and they brought him
out and set him outside the city. And it came to be, when they had brought them
outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay
anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed.” And Lot
said to them, “Oh no,יהוה ! “Look, please, your
servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have increased your kindness
which you have shown me by saving my life, but I am unable to escape to the
mountains, lest calamity overtake me and I die. “Look, please, this city is
near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please let me escape there – is it not
a small matter – and let my life be saved?” And He said to him, “Look, I have
favored you concerning this matter also, without overthrowing this city for
which you have spoken. “Hurry, escape there. For I am not able to do any deed
until you arrive there.” So the name of the city was called Tsoʽar. The
sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Tsoʽar. And
יהוה rained sulphur and fire on Seḏom and
Amorah, from יהוה out of the Heavens. So He
overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him,
and she became a post of salt.
Loitering
is another characteristic of immature believer; it is a character trait that
was design to show us who we are inside. A good tree produces good fruit, while
a bad tree generates bad fruit. Lot loitered to the point that the messengers
had to grab his hand and pull him out of Sodom. Their character traits are
telltale sign of our spiritual deficiency. Many believers have never been
taught how to interpret our character trait.
Because
of their impudence, Lot’s sons-in-law lost their chance to be saved; therefore,
the Angels insisted that Lot hurry and take his wife and his soon to be single
daughters and leave the doom city.
This
illustrate another Divine principle, one that is often encountered through
history: Someone who is mature spiritually, may be saved by a miracle even when
everything around them is falling apart, a less mature person may be granted an
opportunity to save themselves from an impending doom, but once the destruction
starts, they will be caught up in the carnage.
Lot
was been saved from the judgment, his seed would produce two important
Scriptural characters: Ruth the ancestress of David and Naamah the Ammonitess,
who would later marry King Solomon.
These
two righteous descendants of Lot would become the mothers of the Davidic
dynasty and the King Messiyah. However, Lot was to be rescued before the
upheaval began, but they were not taken out totally. Like those who will still
be on earth during the tribulation, they too will be protected from the wrath
of the Almighty. It is those who reach maturity that will be taken away, those
who are of the same spiritual nature will be given protection in the cliff of
the rock, as Lot did.
Mature
believer like Noah and Abraham was in their
protected place, the Ark, but Noah and Abraham witness the destruction
from a distant. Lot and his family were told not to look back. Lot’s wife
turned around to see the horrors that her friends were suffering, she too died.
She look back to observe her loses, what was she giving up for her spiritual
security. We are admonish that anyone who put his or her hand to the task and
look back is unworthy.
Lot
like most immature believer begged for concession, for he was afraid that if he
was required to flee to the mountain suggested by the angels, he would not make
it. He plied that one of the five towns be spared at least for a short time, so
that he could take refuge there. Did Lot become a fat cat in Sodom? Was the
strain of leaving Sodom too great for his luxurious life style?
I
know that Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt, for she look back at what she was
giving up, in comparison to what she was about to receive. Too often I hear
Sunday worshiper says I have been going to Sunday church all my life, I am not
about to change now. Salt is a commodity that stops other thing from changing;
we become what our mind thinks we are. Salt stop flesh from rotten and rots
iron, when we refuse from leaving material things behind, we becomes an agent
that stop our flesh from change.
An
immature believer will always complain that it is too far to travel, and it is
too hard to achieve. One such famous saying is that we can never achieve
perfection in this lifetime. Such belief system will never bring anyone to the
mountaintop. After years of living a life of mediocrity, Lot is now realizing
that our spirit, like our muscle if they are not exercise, will fail us when we
will need it most. If we are not accustom to resist the small stuff, how will
we resist the larger? Lot, like most immature believer never had much
opportunity to flex his spiritual muscle, when the critical time comes to use
them, he was unable to.
At
first, Lot insists that the Angel not require him to flee to the mountain. In
his plea he asks for a compromise. Let him flee to Zoar the smallest of the
five, or could we say the lesser of the five evil. Lot was willing to leave,
but he was not willing to leave the environment. Like children we protest when
our parent insist that we eat our vegetable, Lot protest how hard it is for him
to flee to a higher ground, he still insist in settling for the lower laying
plain of immaturity, instead of the high mountain top of spiritual maturity.
Hurry,
the Angel told him, that EL YAHWEH would not start the destruction until Lot
was safe in Zoar. What is preventing our planet from been destroyed? It is the
result of the Lot among us those who take so long to reach maturity. Remember
we talk about the one third of the Stars (Angels) who fell. Remember I said EL YAHWEH
want them replace by faithful mature souls. The Lot type believers are the one
who are preventing the destruction of the evil world system.
When
the goal or the quota is meet this world will past away and all things will
become new. My friends do not become a Lot, be a Abraham, establish a covenant
with EL YAHWEH, this is our sole responsibility in life.
Gen 19:27-29 And Aḇraham
arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before יהוה , and he looked toward Seḏom and
Amorah, and toward all the land of the plain. And he looked and saw the smoke
of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. Thus it came to be, when Elohim destroyed the
cities of the plain, that Elohim remembered Aḇraham,
and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in
which Lot had dwelt. - In genesis 19:20 and again in
27 we hear about early risers, believers who arose early are usually mature
believers, as the Angels and Abraham practice. Weather it is to rise early to
pray or even to read from the Word, it is the sheep that rise early benefit
from the early morning dew. There is an old Jamaican folk tale: the early bird
catches the worm.
What
is the difference between Lot’s wife looking back and Abraham observing the
destruction? One was in the Permissive Will the other was in the Sovereign
Will. One died the other did not.
Gen 19:30-38 And Lot went up out of Tsoʽar and
dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him, for he was afraid
to dwell in Tsoʽar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a
cave. And the first-born said to the
younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us,
as is the way of all the earth. “Come, let us make our father drink wine and
lie with him, so that we preserve the seed of our father.” So they made their father drink wine that
night. And the first-born went in and lay with her father, and he was not aware
of it when she lay down or when she arose. And it came to be on the next day
that the first-born said to the younger, “See, I lay with my father last night.
Let us make him drink wine tonight as well, and you go in and lie with him, so
that we keep the seed of our father.” So
they made their father drink wine that night as well. And the younger arose and
lay with him, and he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she arose. Thus
both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. And the first-born
bore a son and called his name Mo’aḇ, he is the father of the
Mo’aḇites to this day. And the younger,
she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi, he is the father of the
children of Ammon to this day. - Even though Lot moved to a
higher plain of spiritual existence, they were not mature enough to withstand
the temptation to come.
Lot’s daughters were modest, righteous women
whose actions were nobly motivated. Thinking that they were the only surviving
humans from the past destruction, they could have felt that it was their
responsibility to save the human race and carrying on their father linage.
Their
husbands were dead, now they were single again. The only man was their father.
Could it be that their sexual appetite that they were use to in Sodom was
raising its ugly head, so they went to their father.
It
is sometime difficult to remove the practice of the world from our lives, when
we have dwelt there so long. However, Father YAHWEH, will always take us from
were we are spiritually, and take us to a higher spiritual level.
Torah
never condemned their actions as incestuous, because they sincerely thought
there was no other way to insure the propagation of the species. Because their
intension seems pure to them; they merited that among there descendant would be
Ruth, an ancestress of David, and Naamah, queen of Solomon and mother of
Rehoboam. This is an example of Grace.
Gen 20:1-2 And
Aḇraham set out from there to the land of the South, and dwelt between Qaḏĕsh
and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. And Aḇraham said concerning Sarah his wife,
“She is my sister.” And Aḇimeleḵ
sovereign of Gerar sent and took Sarah. - I am a bit perplexed about this particular story of Abraham; the
account of this chapter seems to be out of place. I am not questioning Torah,
just the sequence of events.
In this chapter Abraham
seem to be displaying a chronic case of coward ness, much like what He did in
Egypt the first time he hid behind his wife. This is not the behavior of a
mature believer. This is not the same man who a few chapters ago armed his
servants and wage war until his nephew was freed. That is why I say this story
does not fit the character at this stage of Abraham life.
Verse 2 says that
Abimelek King of Gear sent and took Sarah. Wait a minute! You mean to tell me
that Abraham fight to save Lot life and He could not fight to save his wife
life. Where was his well-trained army? If Abraham fight to save his wife and
leave Lot, I would agree, but not the other way around. However, I am not
saying it never happened. It certainly did.
Gen 20:3
But Elohim came to Aḇimeleḵ
in a dream by night, and said to him, “See, you are a dead man because of the
woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” - Since Abraham was not strong enough to fight for
His wife, EL YAHWEH had to appear to Abimelek in a dream, and told him do not
touch this woman. The Sovereign Will of YAHWEH cannot be altered by anyone; EL YAHWEH
had to protect His Covenant by keeping Abimelek away from Sarah. The evil-one
will always send an Abimelek to jeopardize our sovereign will, something we are
afraid off. Do you have a weakness in our lives, something the evil-one will
use against us? Abraham certainly had a thorn in the flesh that could be used
against him. This thorn will even get us to violate even the things we
treasured most.
Gen 20:4
However, Aḇimeleḵ
had not come near her, and he said, “יהוה , would You slay a righteous
nation also? - The word approach is a
euphemism for intimacy. To prevent Abimelek from taking Sarah as a wife, EL YAHWEH
made him erectile dysfunction. This king was no fool; he knew that it was the
will of Elohim. He reasoned with YAHWEH’s sense of reasoning, “will You slay a
righteous nation”.
EL YAHWEH
went out of His way to rescues righteous Lot and his family, before the
destruction of Sodom. EL YAHWEH never said that Abimelek was not a king of a
righteous nation.
Gen 20:5-6 “Did he not say to
me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In
the integrity of my heart and in the innocence of my hands I have done
this.” And Elohim said to him in a
dream, “Yea, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart, and so I
kept you from sinning against Me. For this reason I did not let you touch her.
– this is such a
problematic text. Is יהוה so demanding and jealous that punishment for disobeying the
Principles of the Kingdom stretches four generations. What kind of El “God”
holds great-great-grandchildreb responsible for the acts of their ancestors?
Was
Abimelek reasoning with EL YAHWEH? There seams to be a pattern been developed,
if the agenda is divine or based on divine principles, we can argued with EL YAHWEH.
We are told that if we are a believer even our offspring will be blessed. It is
not wrong to argue for the protection of our love one as stipulated in
Deuteronomy 28:1 “Now
it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of YAHWEH your Elohim, to observe carefully all
His commandments which I command you today, that YAHWEH your Elohim will set you high above all nations of
the earth. 2“And all these blessings shall come upon you and
overtake you, because you obey the voice of the YAHWEH
your Elohim: 3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed
shall you be in the country. 4“Blessed shall be the fruit of your
body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase
of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5“Blessed shall be
your basket and your kneading bowl. 6“Blessed shall you be when you
come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Abraham
and Sarah came into his country and said that Sarah was his sister and she
confirmed it. In those days, it was the king’s prerogative to take who he
desires to be his wife.
We
also know that Sarah was about ninety years old. Why would the King take an old
woman for a wife? On the other hand, after EL YAHWEH renewed Abram and Sarai
they must have drop at least 20-30 years off the previous appearance. I can buy
that. What I cannot understand is Abraham actions in this matter.
Gen 20:7 “And now, return the
man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and let him pray for you and you live. But if
you do not return her, know that you shall certainly die, you and all that are
yours.” - The
implication for Abimelek is death to him and his household. Abraham and Sarah
was part of EL YAHWEH Sovereign Will, which cannot be change. Even though the
persons to whom the promise was made was not walking right. EL YAHWEH will
always protect His people with His Rod and His Staff.
Gen 20:8 So Aḇimeleḵ rose early in the morning, and called all his
servants, and spoke all these words in their hearing. And the men were greatly
frightened. And Aḇimeleḵ called
Aḇraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? In what have I sinned
against you, that you have brought on me and on my reign a great sin? You have
done matters to me that should not be done.” - Look at
what Genesis 22:8 says about Abimelek, he raised early in the morning, an
excellent trait of a believer. This is not a question if Abimelek was right or
wrong, he was prevented from acting against EL YAHWEH Sovereign Will. The
evil-one will always try to create situations to get Yah’s chosen people to act
contrary to His Will, even out of ignorance as Eve did.
We
must be very zealous as believers to always ask for the Spirit of Wisdom and
understanding before we undertake any actions. An example: we might send money
to a Christian organization who is doing charity work in some distant land. The
appearance of doing good is in the forefront, yet we know that Christianity
does not
keep the Laws of Elohim; they
have nailed some to the Cross.
However,
many of us have never stop to question the sincerity of Christianity, we just
without thinking assume that because it is a Christian organization sponsored
by some large denomination it must be righteous. Abimelek questioned Abraham “What have you done to us? In what have I sinned
against you, that you have brought on me and on my reign a great sin? You have
done matters to me that should not be done.” This is what scripture calls an
offence. An offence is when anyone, weather knowing or unknowingly, cause
someone to transgress EL YAHWEH Laws.
Gen 20:10-11 And Aḇimeleḵ said
to Aḇraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this matter?” And Aḇraham
said, “Only because I said to myself, the fear of Elohim is not in this place,
and they shall kill me for the sake of my wife. - Notice what Abraham said; He said to himself, he did
not consult EL YAHWEH. Abraham judged with the seeing of his eyes and the
hearing of his ear. This is a lesson to all believers; do not judge what you do
not know. Even if someone come and informed you, take it back to EL YAHWEH for
His opinion.
Gen 20:12-13 “And yet, she is
truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my
mother, and she became my wife. “And it came to be, when Elohim caused me to
wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that
you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my
brother.”- A half a
truth is even greater than a down right untruth. Abraham was never punish by EL
YAHWEH for this mishaps. Abraham did not tell a lie, he only made an inaccurate
statement/ A lie is when we make a statement that is against Torah, the Truth.
However,
an inaccurate statement can easly cause us to error in our action. Many
religions today are made up of a little lie and a little truth. That is why
religion is so dangerous.
Abraham
action was actually prophetic in this sense; he was prophesying that there
would be a people who will base their survival on a half-truth. That is exactly
what Christianity is today. This half-truth, have cause countless thousand of
people to transgress the forth commandment. Yet it was not a willful act.
Abraham did not willfully set out to deceive Abimelek; however, that is exactly
what happen.
Gen 20:14-15 Then
Abimelek took sheep, and cattle, and male and female servants, and gave them to
Abraham. And he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelek said, “See, my
land is before you, dwell wherever it is good in your eyes.”- Abimelek represent the Gentile nations, who even though
they might not be totally obedient to Torah, but they have a sense of
righteousness about them. It is unfair for the Hebrew people to judge them as
unrighteous, until they understand all the fact.
When
we as Messiyanic spend the time to teach our Christian brother the truth about
Torah, like Abimelek they will give us their land as a possession.
Gen 20:16 And to Sarah he
said, “See, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. See, it is
to you a covering of eyes before all who are with you and before all others,
and you are cleared before everyone.” Here we see the gentile church Christianity, begins to
pay tithes to Biblical Judaism. This payment of money is to say that the seed
of Abraham hold the truth. A time will come when Scriptural Judaism will be
cleared before everyone.
Gen 20:17 And Aḇraham
prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Aḇimeleḵ, and
his wife, and his female servants, so they bore children, - The seed of Abraham will pray to EL YAHWEH and heal
Abimelek (the Church) and its offspring so they can bore children and bring
them to maturity.
